Listen: My Morning Jacket – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

That My Morning Jacket are fond of Christmas should come as no surprise. For one thing, look at them – a hand knitted festive jumper would look no more at home than warming their manly, bearded frames. But also, remember this is a band prone to appearances on American Dad and recording songs with The Muppets, and as such the idea of them trying their hand at a holiday standard slots in comfortably with their altogether more kitsch-friendly take on the otherwise serious business of rock and roll.

Their version of ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’, sees them add their name to a list of greats to tackle the tune that already includes Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra. As you’d expect from Jim James and co., their decidedly mature rendition is rich with gentle acoustic guitar plucking and honeyed vocals, and they don’t even giggle when it gets to the “make the yuletide gay” line. The track was recorded as part of My Morning Jacket’s recent BBC 6 Music session, and features as day one of this week’s MPFree Festive Giveaway on the station’s site. Expect Christmassy covers from The Kills, Jamie N Commons, Lucy Rose and Scott Matthews in the coming days.